Light Cavalry

These mounted samurai are armed with short spears and are best used to disrupt enemy missile units and to chase routing foes.

Light cavalry are swift, and can deliver a devastating charge thanks to their spears. However, they should then break off, reform and attack again rather than remaining in melee. Like all samurai, they are well motivated by their sense of honour and have high morale in battle. Their speed over a battleground comes in useful when chasing down fleeing troops, or when they are needed to deliver a final blow to wavering enemies. They are, however, the weakest cavalry when fighting infantry, and are vulnerable if mishandled when facing spear infantry or if left within range of missile troops.

Historically, mounted combat was the traditional identifier of the samurai as a warrior and social class, just like the knights of medieval Europe. Being a mounted warrior required wealth and position to sustain the expense of horses, armour and servants. Perhaps this goes some way to explaining why many samurai came to fight on foot, as it was cheaper to take part in battle! Some traditions, however, such as seeking out an equally skilled and honourable foe refused to die, even though they ran counter to the idea of army and unit discipline.

Unit Name

Light Cavalry

Unit Key

Cav_Spear_Light_Cavalry

Soldiers

60

Category

Cavalry

Class

Spear Cavalry

Multiplayer Cost

400

└ Multiplayer Limit

0

Recruitment Cost

400

├ Recruitment Turns

1

└ Unit Limit

0

Unkeep Cost

100

Melee Attack

4

└ Melee Weapon

spear

Charge Bonus

20

Bonus vs Cavalry

7

Melee Defence

1

Armour

2

Horse Mode

shogun_horse_ronin

└ Mount Armour

4

Morale

8

Abilities

Wedge FormationTrained to charge in a wedge formation in order to better penetrate enemy formations